I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
October 1st, 2010 by Angela
(The Promises of God to Christians)
Growing up, my daddy liked to crank the stereo up in our house on Sunday mornings, and usually blaring from the two speakers in our living room, was country music. Not the country music of today, but the ‘real country’ when country wasn’t cool. This song, “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden†was one I remember hearing as a child, and I thought of it recently, when I was thinking of what God promises us as Christians. Does God promise us a rose garden, where everything in life will be perfect, and go smoothly at all times? Yes and no. Yes, God promises us this perfect life, actually a life without end, in the ‘age to come’ when Jesus puts all his enemies under his feet, the earth is restored and sin and death are no more. Then, God will come down to the earth to dwell with mankind, and it will be very similar to the Garden of Eden, a rose garden, if you will, of when life will be perfect and holy and good. But, not until then.
This should be the Gospel message that churches should be preaching, teaching, sharing, and continually bringing to the forefront of both Christians and nonbelievers alike. When we stray from this basic Gospel message that Jesus preached and the Apostle Paul helped spread during the years of the early church, and instead, we choose to focus on more popular teachings, what may be commonly called “prosperity teaching†or pop, feel-good psychology that is falsely setting up believers for a fall, then people are shocked and unprepared when tragedy or sickness or suffering or persecution comes their way. Then they walk away from their faith that they really didn’t have in the first place, because they were believing in promises that God never made to them!
Don’t get me wrong here! I totally believe the Church should be praying for and expecting miracles; believing God to be huge in our lives; and in the possibility for us to have God’s favor upon us, today, in the land of the living! But, at the same time, we have to be extremely careful what we tell people in our attempts to persuade them to increase their desire to become Christians. If we try to promise them the moon, when they only get the earth and that’s not even to inherit right now, but later…. Then we do them a disservice and when hard times hit, they walk away from the faith, disenchanted. They feel like they’ve been sold down the river and think God has hung them out to dry. Or they may even doubt that there is a God at all, and if there is one, maybe He doesn’t love them as much as they thought He did or else that bad thing would never have happened to them. They begin to think, maybe they weren’t good enough, obedient enough, or maybe they didn’t believe strong enough. Doubts creep in and their faith gets shaky. They get depressed and struggle with what to do with their affliction or trial that is happening to them.
But, take heart, oh man or woman of God! Do not fear or worry, for God has not forsaken you. He is near when you seek Him. Perhaps the problem is, He never promised you the rose garden right now. Perhaps there’s a few thorns and bristles along the way that we must endure to inherit the Kingdom. Does not the Scripture tell us as much? Acts 14:22 says, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Perhaps instead, God desires you to go through the fire, to be molded, shined and glazed (glorified) into a more Christ-like believer, where your affliction will produce character, the character hope. Maybe you have gone through the trial so that you can empathize and comfort another going through the same thing later on. Maybe we are being persecuted, because when we stand up against sin, the world will dislike us for imparting that reminder of their salvation that is lacking.
Should we be surprised? Absolutely not! We should be shoring up our faith in the promises of God that are absolute, unwavering, and true, for our God is faithful whether we believe in Him or not!
God HAS promised us the following:
- A new heavens and a new earth
- No more dying, no more pain, no more suffering
- Justice
- Righteousness
- The abolishment of sin and the grave
- He has promised us eternal life through belief in His son
- We get to live forever with Him on this earth in that coming Kingdom!
Those are the promises that you can take to the bank! Those are the promises made to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants. The only thing we need to concern ourselves with, is whether we are going to be the heirs, adopted sons and daughters of God,or not; whether we are going to be co-heirs with Jesus, to inherit the world, and how we become heirs; and then how to share this good news with others, so that they too can be saved. This should be the focus of our lives and when you begin to belief THIS Gospel message – the one and only gospel – it will radically change your life and those around you.
This message about the promises of God [inheriting eternal life in a coming kingdom and the reign of Christ] and obtaining those promises through our belief in His Son, is the Gospel message. The promise is not that we will be trouble-free, hassle-free, trial-free right now in this life, but that we have a hope that is sure, and a future in a kingdom that is to come, that is unshakable, imperishable, and untouchable by our enemies around us. No one, absolutely no one can take this hope away from us. No matter what is going on around us or to us, or with our loved ones, we know that we have a hope and that hope is based on a promise God made to Abraham, back in Genesis 18, and if we put our faith in God, we will not be disappointed. We will have power and salvation in this hope, and knowing this is true, will sustain us through all kinds of trials and temptations. We can get through anything, knowing God is there for us and He will see us through the fire, the thorns & the thistles, knowing that we are being purified for something so grand, that it is unimaginable. “When you go through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not go over you: when you go through the fire, you will not be burned; and the flame will have no power over you.” Isaiah 43:2
This perfect rose garden, the coming Kingdom when everything will be perfect, is so magnificent, we cannot even begin to fathom it. It is almost unbelievable. If we could see it, and it was here already, it wouldn’t be faith. But, faith in Christ and his coming kingdom is definitely attainable for all mankind, and we can be benefactors of this promise, if we only repent and believe and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
So, next time something tragic happens in your life, do not let it shake you or hinder your faith, but rest assured on the promises of our Almighty, powerful, awesome God named Yahweh! He is good and He draws us to Him through His kindness and mercy. We do not deserve this awesome promise, but through His grace and mercy through the gift of His son’s blood, we can look forward to being heirs to this promise and dwelling with God forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus even promised blessings in this life for those who forsake things for his sake, although it’s “with persecutions.”
Mark 10:
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
But still, the ultimate goal, and our primary focus, is the blessings in the age to come.
Hi Angela
Yes, life is certainly no rose garden right now. All my hope is in the Age to come, but in the meantime, an old favorite verse for me is 2 Cor 12, but esp vs 9 “and He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness”. I have plenty of (physical) weakness, but am sure that my (spiritual) power is being perfected by it.
Fiona
Hi,
often folks speak of the garden of Eden as if everything there was good and perfect and sort of what modern day folks would call “utopia” with only good and everything nice and wonderful …. well, was that actually the case?
Were Adam and Eve sort of on an “all-paid, help yourself to everything” type of “constant enjoyment vacation” in the garden, or were they there to work for their living?
Was there no evil present there? I thought I read that the serpent was inside the garden tempting Eve?
Perhaps the common ideas about the garden of Eden as a “good utopia place” need some revision? Of course, if one would like to take the original “garden of Eden” as the type of what the often mentioned future earth will look like, there may also need to be some revision necessary there, or?
Cheers,
Wolfgang
Hi,
forgot to mention …. I actually like the song. There are some good lines in it.
Cheers,
Wolfgang
Until the fall, their job was to dress and keep the garden. Only after the fall does God say, “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread.”
When God first created everything it was “very good.” Ezekiel 28 tells us that the anointed cherub who was in Eden was perfect in his ways until he was lifted up with pride, at which time iniquity was found in him and he was cast out.
The name Eden means “pleasure” or “delight” and Paradise means a “pleasure-ground.” Eden is from a Hebrew word and is used in the OT, while the Greek word for paradise (which is derived from a Persian word) is used in the NT to refer to a future place on earth. (The LXX has “paradise” for “garden” in Gen. 2:8.) This is the meaning of the words, and needs no revision.
Mark C.,
who says that Eze 28 is even speaking about the serpent at the time of Adam and Eve? I’ve read a few commentaries that keep the passage in its immediate context and do not interpret it to be talking about a fallen angel who turned into a serpent
Wolfgang,
The context of Eze. 28 is a declaration addressed to the prince of Tyre. However, many commentaries agree that it is a type or illustration of the devil, since the prince of Tyre was not literally an anointed cherub, nor literally in Eden.
Still, commentaries are divided on whether or not this passage refers to Satan. I don’t think it can be proved conclusively either way. However, we do know that sin and evil were not in the Garden from the beginning, since it was called “very good.” We also know that the devil was lifted up with pride at some point (I Tim. 3:6).
Also, God warns people about Satan in many places throughout the Bible. If he existed in the Garden from the beginning, why wouldn’t God have warned Adam and Eve about him? I think it is reasonable to conclude that Satan was not the Evil One from the beginning, but became such when he was lifted up with pride.
(BTW, the Bible doesn’t say he “turned into a serpent.” It simply calls him “the serpent” in reference to his nature.)
Mark C.,
it would seem that there was definitely evil in some form present in the garden from the time of Adam and Eve on, why would God speak to Adam about the “tree of knowledge of good AND EVIL” at the time He did and warn Adam about the consequences of disobeying God’s command concerning it?
Just from this, it seems rather clear that good and evil were involved in man’s life and man’s choices … or was there a time after God had instructed Adam about that particular tree of knowledge of good and evil when Adam could not have disobeyed because there was only good possible and evil had not come about as of yet?
Also, one should note that the presence of evil is NOT the same as the presence of sin !!
“The context of Eze. 28 is a declaration addressed to the prince of Tyre. However, many commentaries agree that it is a type or illustration of the devil, since the prince of Tyre was not literally an anointed cherub, nor literally in Eden.”
Mark
In Eze. 28:1-19 there is 2 different beings being addressed. From 1- 10 the highest human is being addressed which is probably the Human king,But being his power is coming from a more powerful being the king is actually addressed by God as just being a prince.
In 11-19 the being that is addressed can not be human because we know of no humans other than Adam and Eve that were in the Garden and certainly none capable of living 3000+ years.
This is very important to understand that Satan and his Angels has been the power behing many kings.
On another note this does state that evil existed in the Garden and the statement “very good’ refers to a creation that came before the creation of the Garden which came after God rested on his Sabbath rest age in which Lucifer ruled while God rested after his first phase of creation and brings to understaning that when God rest again there will be another(Yahshua,Yeshua,Jesus) who will rule for him.
This rule that Lucifer had is what made his pride incease to think he was equal to God and what cause him to become the adversary of God and why he tempted Adam and Eve .
It very hard to give back authority but we find that the next ruler during God’s Sabbath will return this authority to God at the end of God’s rest.
It is through much trouble that we must enter the kingdom. (Acts 14:22) This is a good word of encouragement and can be very useful in ministering to someone who is going through much trouble. Trouble comes to everyone in this world. It seems that very much of it can come to Christians at times.
There is so much wrong in this world, but in heaven, in the presence of the Lord, everything is right. Everything is done right.
The Lord is judging there and he judges in righteousness.
When someone on this blog asks questions they already know the answers to, in order to cause us to think about some things, as their way of sharing something of value to us, you who think you are spiritual, please refrain from posting such questions and adding your answers under them, as it appears to be that you are treating them as if they have no understanding when in fact they do.
It’s really not necessary and causes trouble. Yet it is through much trouble that we must enter the kingdom.
I think it would be better to read what they have shared, then write your own way of sharing something if you think something needs correction, or if you simply want to add something that someone also shared which in your opinion was good and had value.
Please show this mercy and kindness. It’s part of being respectful to others.
I agree. In light of that, I would reword comment #10 as follows:
It is through much trouble that we must enter the kingdom. (Acts 14:22) This is a good word of encouragement and can be very useful in ministering to someone who is going through much trouble. Trouble comes to everyone in this world. It seems that very much of it can come to Christians at times.
There is so much wrong in this world, but in the coming Kingdom, in the presence of the Lord, everything will be made right. When God’s Kingdom comes, His will shall be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The Lord Messiah will be judging there and he will do so in righteousness. This is the great hope of mankind, as prophesied throughout both Old and New Testaments, and it is what Jesus told us to pray for.
Hello Wolfgang! This Scripture, I believe, is prophetic about the coming age and in reference to your first comment about the Garden, in comment #3:
“And they will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.” Ezekiel 37:35.
I really don’t think any revision is necessary in how we view or anticipate the Kingdom age, as a type of “Garden of Eden” or paradisaical state. I think it is quite Biblical and good enough for our LORD God, therefore good enough for me. As He states in the following verse, “I, Yahweh, have spoken and will do it.” And that is why our God is so faithful and to be trusted. We can hope in this coming restoration because He said He will bring it about and His word is true.
I do think you bring up an interesting discussion point about evil & Satan being present in this Garden, but we know this will definitely not be the case in the Kingdom to come.
Sorry – Ezekiel 36:35. 🙂